I read an article this morning about a journalist who found high school students in a charter school were unaware of the death of Osama bin Laden several years after a U.S. Seal team killed him. He was appalled enough by their ignorance that he started the News Literacy Project, which focuses on getting young people interested in national and world news, and learning how to discern what is true and what isn’t—a very important skill in the age of internet, where fiction often co-exists with the truth, but without distinctive markers.
This article reminded me of my own sadness and frustration with people who have grown up involved in a church, but are basically ignorant when it comes to the Bible. They often know the popular stories, such as the ones about Noah, Daniel and the lions’ den, and Zacchaeus climbing the tree, but lack a comprehensive understanding of biblical teaching. I was heartened recently by a conversation with one of my former students who told me how grateful he was for the experience he and his wife had with the campus ministry I lead. They now lead a church small group and he told me how little the members know about biblical teaching or how to pray.
Sadly, this has been my experience with so many students entering college who have grown up in a Christian home and have attended church since they were babies. They know very little about what the Scriptures truly say and how to apply their teachings to their everyday lives. But even more alarming is the fact that there are many older adults who have been involved in church their whole lives for which the same can be said. I recall being a guest preacher at a church where the elders gathered around me requesting I handle almost every part of the service, including the Communion meditation and the prayer time. Perhaps it was their fear of public speaking, but it struck me as odd that not one of the men was willing to pray or to teach from the Word in front of the congregation of which they were the spiritual leaders.
In our campus ministry, we have long had what is the Christian version of the journalist’s News Literacy Project. We are seeking to do what Paul sought for Timothy—to help them know the Scriptures thoroughly enough to handle them correctly. We not only teach from the Word, we have them read it and discuss its application. We encourage them to read it regularly on their own, studying it and applying what they read.
As with the news, there are people out there teaching things they claim are biblical and true, but not all are as true as they seem when the whole of Scripture is brought to bear on their claims. Over the years of my ministry, I have had many students enter college with firm beliefs regarding the Christian faith, only to leave believing different things because they actually studied the Scriptures and let them be their guide on what to believe rather than their church or family tradition.
Today, consider what your biblical literacy is. How much do you really know about what the Word says beyond what other people tell you? How much time do you devote to personally reading and studying it per week? If these questions make you uneasy, then likely you are not as biblically literate as you thought or need to be.
© Jim Musser 2016
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